The 1864 National Union Convention was held by the National Union Party in Baltimore, Maryland on June 7 and 8, 1864. "National Union" was the name adopted by the main faction of the Republican Party in 1864. It represented a coalition of Republicans, most War Democrats, and other Unionists. The National Union renominated Abraham Lincoln for president and nominated Andrew Johnson vice president. At the convention, the party adopted a platform calling for a victorious end in the ongoing Civil War, the eradication of slavery by constitutional amendment, and the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation.Proceedings, p. 57 The proceedings were transcribed by Dennis Francis Murphy, member of the Official Corps of Reporters for the U.S. Senate.
Background
Since 1861, in many state elections, Republicans had allied under the "Union" label with War Democrats who supported Lincoln's military policy and with "Conservative Unionists" in the Border States.
In the 1864 presidential election, Lincoln sought re-election.
Some Radical Republicans, a hard-line faction within Lincoln's own party, believed that Lincoln was incompetent and therefore could not be re-elected. They formed the Radical Democratic Party, for which a few hundred delegates had convened in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 31, 1864. They eventually nominated John C. Frémont, who had been the Republicans' first presidential nominee, in the 1856 election. They hoped that this would cause someone other than Lincoln to gain the Republican nomination.
At the 1864 convention, pro-Lincoln Republicans adopted the new party name which also could accommodate their allies. The convention dropped then-Vice President Radical Republican Hannibal Hamlin from the ticket, and chose War Democrat Andrew Johnson as Lincoln's running mate. The National Unionists hoped that the new party and the Lincoln–Johnson ticket would emphasize the unionist purpose of the war while downplaying Republican partisanship and the slavery issue.
One notable speech was made by Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge of Kentucky, uncle of former Vice President and Confederate general John C. Breckinridge.
Party platform The convention adopted a Platform of 11 resolutions. Several resolutions were notable as they specified that the cause of the Civil War was slavery, called for slavery's eradication from the union, the complete destruction of the Confederacy, and open military enlistment of freed slaves, adopted the Emancipation Proclamation, and supported an increase in foreign immigration and asylum as just policy.
Presidential nomination Presidential candidates
On the first ballot, Missouri delegates cast their 22 votes for General Ulysses S. Grant. The Missourians quickly changed their votes to make Lincoln's renomination unanimous.
Presidential Ballot1st (Before Shifts) 1st (After Shifts)Lincoln494516Grant220Not Voting33
Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention (June 8, 1864)
Vice Presidential nomination Vice Presidential candidates
Though Hamlin was willing to serve another term as vice president, he privately made it known that he was willing to step aside if a candidate who would be a greater electoral asset to Lincoln could be found. The convention therefore nominated Andrew Johnson, the military governor of Tennessee. Lincoln had refused to weigh in on his preferred running mate, and the convention chose to nominate Johnson, a Southern War Democrat, in order to boost the party's appeal to Unionists of both parties.White (2009), pp. 632-635.
Vice Presidential Ballot1st (Before Shifts) 1st (After Shifts)Johnson 200492Hamlin 1509Dickinson 10817Butler 280Rousseau 210Colfax 60Burnside 20Holt 20King 10Tod 11
Vice Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention (June 8, 1864)
Lincoln's acceptance In keeping with the tradition of the time, Lincoln did not attend the convention. On hearing the news of his re-nomination, he wrote on June 9, 1864:
See also 1864 Democratic National Convention 1866 National Union Convention History of the United States Republican Party List of Republican National Conventions 1864 United States presidential election United States presidential nominating convention
References
External links
Republican Party Platform of 1864 at The American Presidency Project Lincoln nomination acceptance letter at The American Presidency Project